Well Thought Plans
by awesomesen
Summary: How to cure panic. [Baralai, Yuna, silliness. One shot.]


_just a silly little one shot. vaguely b/y. dedicated to **bacafreak**, who stumbled upon it on my live-journal and promptly e-mailed me to ask it to please post it here - how flattering, hehe! _

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Face-up in the still water, drenched and dripping, clothes and hair plastered to her, Yuna opened her eyes and stared up at the sun. Then she swam slowly, clothes weighing her down, to the Moonflow's bank. A short ledge separated the waist-high water from the shore. "Um," she said. Baralai, equally soaked, had already gotten out of the water. He was in the process of simultaneously wringing out his shirt and sulking about embarrassedly, and steadily avoided looking in her direction.

"What was _that_ all about?" she asked, going up to sit on the sand beside him, pulling off a boot, and then the other, to shake them free of water and sand.

"The fiends—"

"So you shoved us into the water?"

"You were panicking," he pointed out, managing to sound level and correct and terribly embarrassed all at once.

Yuna blushed. "So were you!" And it wasn't her fault, either: a pack of Ochu was serious, especially without any Dressphere. Anyone would have gotten a little—nervous. When she felt her face cool down, she asked again. "And the water?"

Baralai was silent for a long minute before he cleared his throat. "…When someone panics, I've been told throwing water…"

Yuna was suddenly overcome with the urge to giggle. She told herself it wouldn't be polite to laugh hysterically in front of the Praetor of New Yevon who had so kindly agreed to escort her to Djose—then she decided that that simply didn't matter. She snickered and then laughed outright. "So you decided to push me into the river?" Yuna could hardly manage to speak around her laughter.

He was blushing harder than she was. "And _you_ grabbed me—"

"What do you expect! I'm not going to fall into the river alone—"

"If you hadn't been panicking—"

Yuna was laughing too hard to even try to reply to that, and Baralai didn't sound too far from laughter himself. She clutched her stomach, doubled over with completely undignified giggles—and then sat upright, affecting what Yuna presumed to be a posh expression. "My Lord," she said primly, "The High Summoner does _not_ panic."

"Which is why My Lady was huddling behind me…"

"I was out of ammo!"

"I didn't even _have_ a gun."

"So into the river!" Yuna started giggling all over again. Baralai allowed himself to laugh along with her, rubbing the back of his neck in slight embarrassment all the same. He had stripped off his boots and coat, loosened the folds of his shirt and let down his hair, just as soaked as Yuna was. And she had removed her boots and untied her half-skirt… "Imagine what the others will think," he said dryly, "when we appear, soaked and half-dressed."

Yuna paled, but giggled slightly—hard to stop now that she had begun. "Rikku will think something is up."

"Gippal will suggest something perverse…"

"Paine will give us one of her _looks_…"

"Nooj will wish he didn't know us…"

Yuna laughed. "I'll tell them that you threw me into the lake. Paine and Rikku will beat you up."

"They'll beat _you_ up," Baralai said mildly. "You're clearly the one taking advantage of me. Making me escort you alone… dragging me into the lake with you…"

"That's not true at all!" Yuna said, then covered her vehemence by sticking out her tongue at him. "Who'd want to take advantage of _you?_"

He gave her a dangerous sort of smile that killed her own. "That's true. It's usually completely the opposite…" He leaned close and Yuna leant back so far that she toppled over backwards in the sand, face red and hot. He leant back again, smiling. "Just kidding," Baralai said lightly, reaching for one of his boots to test dampness.

When he stood up, he gave Yuna and hand to help her to her feet as well. She allowed him to assist her, but didn't let go of his hand. When he gave her a questioning look, she smiled charmingly.

Then shoved him into the water.

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"Suspicious, suspicious!" Gippal said delightedly when he saw them, soaked and late and walking close together: "The secret trysts of generally prudish Yevonites! Spill, spill!"

"She took advantage of me," Baralai said seriously, with such a straight face that Gippal, eyebrows raised, backed off as Yuna giggled.

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End file.
